A fitting farewell with the right amounts of bittersweet and hopeful.
Ulla battles magically induced amnesia to unravel a dangerous, world-changing scheme.
The closing volume of the Omte Origins trilogy is a bit of a farewell tour for loyal readers, as the characters travel to visit troll kingdoms, their rulers (and other familiar beloved characters), and the trolls’ various fantastical hidden cities (with a helpful, extensive glossary to track all the spinning pieces). In the opening, Ulla is on an airplane back to Minnesota, confused and disoriented, with no recollections of the past month, and needing to be told about the trade that enabled the Trylle and the Vittra to secure her and her friends’ release from the Älvolk. Struggling against the Älvolk magic’s blocking of her memories, Ulla unlocks various flashbacks to help her piece together their endgame. To cope with her parental revelations, she seeks out her sisters and finds even more surprises as endless blood tests reveal an ever more complicated web of parentage and other familial relationships. Ulla and Pan, with shared memory loss, initially dance around their romance, though the storyline climaxes in some steamy scenes. By the time all the revelations and twists land and the full stakes are realized, the world is in danger. A large, cinematic set piece of a final battle pulls together all corners of the troll world with fast, point-of-view–jumping storylines and hard losses.
A fitting farewell with the right amounts of bittersweet and hopeful. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-20430-1
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
Disappointing.
Unlikely friends fight their growing feelings for each other while placing bets on other people’s love lives.
Bailey met Charlie while flying from Alaska, where she grew up, to Nebraska, where she and her mom would be living after her parents’ divorce. Although they briefly bonded over their parents’ divorces, Charlie’s cynicism grated on the rule-following Bailey, and she was thankful to part ways with him. Three years later, to Bailey’s dismay, she runs into Charlie when they both land jobs at Planet Funnn, a mega-hotel that’s “like a giant landlocked cruise ship.” This time around, Bailey and Charlie begin to get along better. To entertain themselves during their long shifts, they observe and make bets about the hotel guests. But they risk taking it too far when they bet on whether their co-worker Theo will end up with Nekesa, Bailey’s best friend, who’s in “a perfect relationship with the perfect guy.” The book explores Bailey’s conflicted feelings toward her mom’s new relationship with Scott (who doesn’t “do anything wrong” but whose presence changes “the vibe” at home), but it does so in a way that diminishes a primary source of conflict. Bailey's and Charlie’s feelings become even more complicated when Charlie helps Bailey with a fake-dating scheme intended to scare Scott off. Some of the banter between the leads, who are coded white, feels more aggressive than playful, detracting from their intimacy, and the circuitous plot may fail to sustain readers’ interest.
Disappointing. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781665921237
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Combines the best parts of the earlier books with confidence and creativity, sustaining strong momentum throughout.
Friendships, romance, and long-awaited answers combine for a triumphant trilogy closer.
A couple of dramatic prologues and some early exposition bring readers up to speed about the mysteries and players of Hemlock Falls. Winnie Wednesday, Erica Thursday, and Jay Friday have formed a clue-gathering trio collectively known as the WTF triangle. The three agree to work together to uncover the truth behind mysteries involving Winnie’s missing father and Erica’s late sister. Winnie’s star has risen in this entry: Characters who teased her during the events of the first book are now cheerfully welcoming toward her, and her romance with werewolf Jay continues to heat up. Her ongoing guilt and trauma over deaths from prior books ground the narrative, while sprinkled-in pop-culture references and a recurring Emily Dickinson motif showcase her nerdy personality. Changes in the format—such as scriptlike dialogue sequences and daily schedules for the Nightmare Masquerade—break up the narration in creative ways. The eventual reveal of a looming threat that’s targeting everyone Winnie knows starts the countdown of a ticking clock within the story. Meanwhile, a slew of fantasy monsters ensure high enough stakes, suspense, and action to bring the story to a heart-racing and satisfying conclusion. Winnie and Jay present white, and Erica is cued Latine.
Combines the best parts of the earlier books with confidence and creativity, sustaining strong momentum throughout. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781250339485
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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